Golden Eagles claim 3-1 win, clinch share of OVC title

Nov 15, 2008

MARTIN, Tenn. - They knew what was needed, and they did it.

The Tennessee Tech volleyball team went to Martin, Tenn., Friday
and came away with a 3-1 victory to clinch at least a share of the
Ohio Valley Conference regular season title. By virtue of the OVC
tie-breaker, the Golden Eagles have also clinched the No. 1 seed --
no matter the outcome of Saturday's match at Murray State -- and
will host the OVC Tournament, Nov. 20-22.

It is the first regular season crown for the Golden Eagles since
1983.

The first set got off to a rocky start with the Golden Eagles
needing to take a time out down, 6-1. But going on a small rally of
its own, Tech scored 14 of the next 19 points to jump out to a
four-point lead.

Holding onto a two-point lead, Tech hit into some errors and
allowed the Skyhawks back into the set at 21-21. The Golden Eagles
finished strong and claimed the next four points to earn the first
set win, 25-21.

With a small amount of weight off their shoulders, Tech got into a
rhythm in the second set.

After UT Martin claimed the first two points, the Golden Eagles
came back and outscored the host team two-to-one the rest of the
set.

With Tech up 21-12, the Golden Eagles went up 24-12 before two
Skyhawks kills brought the lead down to 10. Meeding just one more
point, Tech forced a hitting error by UT Martin and earned a 2-0
set lead heading into the intermission.

Using their home court advantage, the Skyhawks were able to turn
the tides in the third set, claiming a 25-18 set win. The Golden
Eagles were held to the lowest hitting percentage in a set during
the third frame, while the Skyhawks had their highest.

In the fourth set, the score went back and fourth before the Golden
Eagles were able to hold on to a small lead. Knowing that the title
was close at hand, Tech put the brakes on the Skyhawk offense and
claimed the match-winning set, 25-18.

Senior Kappy Lang ran the offense for the Golden Eagles with 37
assists and 16 digs. On the defense, junior Katie Kenline supported
the blockers with 10 digs. Tech got double-figure kills from three
players, led by Leah Meffert with 16 along with 10 digs. Jess
Asplund had 12 kills along with nine total blocks, while Amanda
Lindgren added 11 kills.

Tech (17-10, 14-3 OVC) still has one more match this weekend before
returning home to host the OVC Tournament. They will travel to
Murray State for the final regular season match Saturday at 2 p.m.
A Tech victory would clinch the title outright.